(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a locking fitting for a leaf of a door, French window or the like, such as a lock, espagnolette-lock or the like, comprising at least one spring-lock elastically restored into locking position and capable of being actuated, through an appropriate control mechanism, such as by a control handle or knob.
This invention will find its application in the field of the building iron-mongery and in particular relates to the locking fittings.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Of course, a large number of locking fittings meeting the above description are known. Thus, a lock or an espagnolette-lock often includes, accommodated in a central casing, a control mechanism on which the user can act either by means of a control knob or handle or by means of a key-operated member, such as a barrel. Such a control mechanism in particular allows to act very frequently on a spring-lock elastically restored into locking position. In particular, this spring-lock is subjected to the action of a restoring spring which, when the action by the user is released, systematically pushes this spring-lock back into its locking position, so as to be capable of cooperating with a keeper. The head of such a spring-lock is therefore configurated, on one side, in the shape of a cam, so that the keeper the sash-frame is generally provided with can, when closing the leaf of the door or the like provided with such a lock or espagnolette-lock, ensure the moving back of this spring-lock against the action of the springy restoring means without it being necessary to act on any control handle or knob whatsoever. Of course, once this door is fully dosed, this spring-bolt positions itself in front of the corresponding hole in said keeper into which it engages, being pushed back by the aforementioned restoring spring.
Furthermore, there are already known means associated to locking fittings, the function of which is to maintain a locking organ in an unlocked position against the action of springy means for restoring into locking position, this at least as long as the leaf has not been closed against its sash-frame.
Such means are often found in espagnolettes or espagnolettes-locks including a control mechanism accommodated in a central casing and designed so as to be capable of actuating at least one operating rod and including, on the one hand, springy means for automatically restoring these operating rods into locking position as well as manual control means, in particular a tumbler actuated by a control handle, to ensure the unlocking of the operating rod and the resetting of the springy means. Such a control mechanism includes, on the other hand, a locking device capable of maintaining the operating rod in its unlocked position upon opening of the leaf of the door, French window or the like. This espagnolette or espagnolette-lock is of course provided with unlocking means capable of releasing the locking device when closing the leaf against the sash-frame and of enabling the restoring of the operating rod into locking position.
There is in particular known an espagnolette or espagnolette-lock provided with a locking device consisting of a locking pawl tiltingly fitted at the level of a face-plate which usually covers the various organs of the espagnolette or espagnolette-lock and which is located at the level of the front edge of the leaf. This locking pawl is caused to act in the direction of moving of this leaf, so that, when opening the latter, it automatically tilts towards the sash-frame, this under the action of a spring, whereas, when closing this leaf, the sash-frame is capable of pushing back this locking pawl against the spring.
Such a locking pawl is extended, at the level of its portion inside the casing containing the control mechanism, by a lever through which it is, capable of maintaining the operating rod or rods in their unlocked position, this when opening the leaf and, hence, as soon as this locking pawl could be released from the sash-frame.
Such a solution in fact has the drawback that the release mechanism is dissociated from a locking organ of the espagnolette or espagnolette-lock. This results into non-synchronous actions between the release mechanism and the locking organ.
In addition, it seems obvious that such a design makes the control mechanism of this espagnolette or espagnolette-lock more complex, in addition to the fact that the face-plate on which the locking pawl is tiltingly fitted corresponds to a specific embodiment which results into a more complicated control of manufacture and into an increase of the number of parts kept in stock.
Finally, by solving the problem of maintaining the spring-lock in unlocked or semi-locked position during the opening of a door, window or the like, this invention allows to contemplate, in a more advanced inventive step, associating to this spring-bolt the function of releasing not only its own springy restoring in locking position, but also the restoring in locking position of operating rods the moving of which is assisted by springy means.
To this end, the invention relates to a locking fitting for a leaf of a door, French window or the like, such as a lock, espagnolette-lock or the like, comprising at least one spring-lock elastically restored into locking position and capable of being actuated, through an appropriate control mechanism, such as by a control handle or knob, characterized in that it includes retaining means associated to the spring-bolt and designed so as to be capable, on the one hand, of maintaining the latter in an unlocked or semi-locked position when the leaf is open and, on the other hand, of being made inactive in order to release the spring-lock by the sash-frame of said door or French window, in particular by a keeper this sash-frame is provided with and which is aimed at receiving said spring-bolt.
Within the framework of a particular application of this invention, with the spring-bolt are associated at the level of its portion inside a casing receiving the mechanism for controlling the locking fitting, unlocking means in the shape of a control pawl capable of releasing a locking device designed so as to be capable of maintaining in an unlocked position another locking organ, such as an operating rod, automatically restored into locking position, this upon releasing the spring-lock by the retaining means when closing the leaf of the door or French window against its sash-frame.
One obviously understands that through this invention the various problems which have been evoked above are efficiently coped with.